Cashiers were among the first workers to share their job with machines: barcode scanners, card readers and then self-checkout lanes. AI adds camera checkout, smart carts and chat help for customers. The question is how many people a store still needs at the till.
The short answer: fewer cashier jobs are expected, but the main cause is self-service and online shopping, not chatbots. The ILO's 2025 index puts cashiers and ticket clerks in gradient 1, its lowest exposed band, at 0.39. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 6 percent decline from 2025 to 2035, yet still about 521,300 openings a year, mostly to replace people who leave. Projections are estimates, not guarantees.
How exposed cashiers are
The International Labour Organization scores occupations' tasks from 0 (cannot be automated with generative AI) to 1 (could be done without a human operator), and groups them into gradients from 1 to 4, with 4 the most exposed; below them sit minimal exposure and not exposed (ILO Working Paper 140, 2025).
| Occupation (ISCO-08) | ILO category | Mean task score (0 to 1) |
|---|---|---|
| Cashiers and Ticket Clerks | Gradient 1 | 0.39 |
| Shop Sales Assistants | Gradient 1 | 0.38 |
The ILO index measures generative AI. Self-checkout stands and scanning hardware are older automation that these scores do not capture, and they explain most of the decline.
What the BLS projects
| Occupation | Projected change 2025 to 2035 | Openings a year |
|---|---|---|
| Cashiers | Decline 6% | About 521,300 |
The BLS says employment is expected to decline because of advances in technology, such as self-service checkout stands in retail stores, and increasing online sales.
What technology is taking on
- Scanning and payment at self-checkout lanes and in apps.
- Camera and sensor checkout that tallies items as shoppers leave.
- Answering simple questions about hours, stock and returns online.
- Counting tills and flagging errors in sales records.
What stays with the cashier
- Customers: greeting people, answering questions and explaining store policies.
- Problems: returns, exchanges, price disputes and a self-checkout that will not accept an item.
- Checks: age-restricted sales, payment issues and spotting mistakes the machine made.
- Checking AI help: chat answers about prices or policies can be confidently wrong, which NIST calls confabulation (NIST AI 600-1). See checking AI output.
How the job is changing
More cashiers now run several self-checkout lanes at once, help customers with them and move between the till, the floor and online order pickup. Skills in customer service, sales and handling store systems widen the options. For selling roles, see will AI replace sales jobs?
See also AI in scheduling and shift allocation, will AI replace customer service?, will AI replace receptionists? and jobs safe from AI
Pay and how to get in
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median annual pay for cashiers at $32,880 in May 2025, against $50,980 for all workers. The typical education needed to enter is: no formal educational credential. See how this job compares in AI exposure by pay and AI exposure by education level.
Questions and answers
Will AI replace cashiers?
Not fully. The BLS projects a 6 percent decline from 2025 to 2035, mainly from self-checkout and online sales, while still expecting about 521,300 openings a year.
How exposed are cashiers to generative AI?
The ILO puts cashiers and ticket clerks in gradient 1, its lowest exposed band, with a mean task score of 0.39.
Is self-checkout the same as AI?
No. Most self-checkout is older automation. Camera checkout and chat help add AI on top.
What cashier work stays human?
Customer help, returns and disputes, age and payment checks, and fixing what the machines get wrong.